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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Flushing the toilet after every wee.

262 replies

Squirrelchops1 · 08/02/2026 20:24

10 litres per flush is a huge amount of water per wee (that's what I believe our cistern holds).
I don't think it's necessary to flush after every wee. My friend thinks I'm tight and unhygienic.
What's your view...
Are you a 'if it's yellow let it mellow'...I am reasonable
Or...'eww you filthy sod'..I am unreasonable

OP posts:
Queenoftartts · 08/02/2026 21:49

Always after a wee. A relatives of mine only usually flush after a number 2. I don't think they put any bleach down it either and their toilet is disgusting. I also hate the smell of piss.

geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:48

The justifications for leaving urine in this thread are hilarious ‘Well it’s really pale and doesn’t smell THAT bad so I let it sit’. Do you genuinely believe that pale urine is more sterile than coloured urine? Do you also believe your less offensive shits to be less germ-riddled than the pungent ones? Make it make sense, guys.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 08/02/2026 21:48

JulietSierra · 08/02/2026 20:35

If I’m home alone I don’t always bother. I drink a lot and my wee isn’t even yellow anyway!

If I’m going out with DH or the kids and we’re nipping to the loo before we go out, we’ll wait til we’ve all been before we flush. Seems so wasteful to flush 2 or 3 times in the space of 2 mins.

Maybe I’m minging. Don’t really care if I am!!

Don't you then end up with a large amount of toilet paper tone flushed?

SpecialG · 08/02/2026 21:48

The water bills where I live are the most expensive in the country and they've just gone up again. Spend a penny is now more like spend £10 quid everytime we flush.

Original poster
Squirrelchops1 · 08/02/2026 21:46

geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:43

This thread is starting to remind me of those episodes of Hoarders where people shuffle around in unsanitary hovels and genuinely believe that in doing so they are saving the planet by keeping items from landfill.

No, i just dont see the need to flush every single time after a wee, particularly as I'm here on my own 60% of the week.

OP posts:
Original poster
Squirrelchops1 · 08/02/2026 21:45

I suppose we all have things we do that save money and ways we don't. I wouldn't give up my tumble dryer for example!

OP posts:
ThatCyanCat · 08/02/2026 21:45

HumbleStumble · 08/02/2026 21:43

It's natural.

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So are wildfires, hurricanes, cholera and crocodiles.

geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:43

This thread is starting to remind me of those episodes of Hoarders where people shuffle around in unsanitary hovels and genuinely believe that in doing so they are saving the planet by keeping items from landfill.

HumbleStumble · 08/02/2026 21:43

IWantToHibernate · 08/02/2026 21:42

I couldn’t leave poo sitting there all day unflushed. That’s disgusting.

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It's natural.

IWantToHibernate · 08/02/2026 21:42

HumbleStumble · 08/02/2026 21:40

We work by the rule:

If it's brown: leave it, don't frown
If it's yellow, wibble it like Jello

So basically we only flush the toilet twice a day, but after passing urine will agitate the soup to allow any solid material sitting there to naturally break up.
Much nicer for the environment 😊

I couldn’t leave poo sitting there all day unflushed. That’s disgusting.

IsThisTheWaytoSlamMyPillow · 08/02/2026 21:42

I wee in the garden and the fresh air ensures I drip dry. No water wastage OR loo roll 😆

suki1964 · 08/02/2026 21:42

No we dont flush every time

We are a believer of " when it's yellow let it mellow. when its brown flush it down :

We do have soft water though so no staining

Original poster
Squirrelchops1 · 08/02/2026 21:41

blooooooor · 08/02/2026 21:35

You are tight and unhygienic 🤢 anyone who doesn’t flush… that stinks! What’s next, sharing bath water between entire family?

Ive already said me and OH use same bath water 🤣
I will precis this by saying we both shower every morning and he literally has a quick dip in bath.

OP posts:
geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:40

My pee could be crystal clear and sparkling like morning dew and I’d still flush it away because it could potentially contain E Coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Enterococcus,and Staphylococcus species. Also Chlamydia/Mycoplasma.

Pale shit is still shit. Ditto urine.

HumbleStumble · 08/02/2026 21:40

We work by the rule:

If it's brown: leave it, don't frown
If it's yellow, wibble it like Jello

So basically we only flush the toilet twice a day, but after passing urine will agitate the soup to allow any solid material sitting there to naturally break up.
Much nicer for the environment 😊

Kiki234 · 08/02/2026 21:40

Ewww just ewww 😭😭😭

TranscendentTiger · 08/02/2026 21:39

I think it depends if you've ever lived somewhere with severe water shortage. If you have, you wouldn't flush every wee.

BreakingBroken · 08/02/2026 21:38

we pay quite a bit for water so we don't flush during the night mainly due to the noise.
during the day not after every wee.
we have a guest bathroom so no issues with visitors seeing wee already in the bowl.
and yes brown flush it down.

FiveShelties · 08/02/2026 21:38

Evaka · 08/02/2026 21:33

It's probably the weirdest thing I do. We present as very normal to the untrained eye ;)

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😂😂

Evaka · 08/02/2026 21:38

geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:31

When I was a pre schooler my friend from next door used to save up his uneaten pieces of cheese sandwich to ‘send to Bob Geldof for the starving children in Africa’. In terms of its futility it’s possibly on par with many of the efforts of some of the people on this thread. He was four so we won’t hold his ignorance against him.

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Lol. Conserving finite resources and keeping bills down is exactly the same.

Dymaxion · 08/02/2026 21:38

Never on a night, not during the day if nobody else around, if visitors present then always.

Rewis · 08/02/2026 21:37

I might not flush every single time if I am home alone and the only person using the loo. However, i really don't want to pee on top of someone elses pee so I do flush every time if someone else is at the house.

blooooooor · 08/02/2026 21:35

You are tight and unhygienic 🤢 anyone who doesn’t flush… that stinks! What’s next, sharing bath water between entire family?

geminicancerean · 08/02/2026 21:34

Doggymummar · 08/02/2026 21:28

God we couldn't afford to. Not on a meter

I like to indulge myself.

Theda13 · 08/02/2026 21:34

I couldn’t do it. I do have a cistern bag, which saves water with every flush. Perhaps that’s something you could implement?

We had ours free from the water company along with a shower timer and a shower head, which uses up less water.